Open Forgotten Legacies

[Darth Raze]

DE Thread​

He could remember the last time he was truly present on this planet, when Emryc unleashed him. He had rallied purebloods, he had fought the king, and he had brought Malicia to power. He had no desire to rule the planet, but he secured his own power through marriage and through Malicia carrying his children. Emryc ruined it all by chasing after his own flings which ultimately killed his potential royal lineage.

The Anzat walked through the sandy landscape of Korriban, almost enjoying the unforgiving heat as much as he did the icy chill of Hoth. He was feeling it through his own body. He had spent the past few weeks learning how to operate a vessel of his own, and it came with its own learning curve of basic tasks. He also had to adapt to being an entirely new race and the nuances that came with devouring people as his primary source of sustenance.

He was walking towards abandoned temples and tombs, walking past where the Imperials fended off a massive Killik attack. Raze would walk for a long time for his goal - the site of the palace where he dwelled for a period of time. No doubt a new pureblood King had taken the crown by now and the pureblood tribes were in disarray. His interests were mainly in obtaining the very artifacts he once helped secure, though he wasn’t afraid to destroy anyone that opposed him.

 

[Arla]

Since the first day that she was born, Arla had had a voracious appetite for knowledge. To her mind, it had come from her Mother, but the amount that it was also derived from her Father was for many years lost on her.

The revelation about who her Father actually was had been staggering, and after the shift in the Force, her mother had run off somewhere, leaving Arla alone. Arla who knew enough to know that her father was at the center of it but who had been kept in the dark about the true extent of the "what" and the "who."

She used the connection in her amulet to find her father, and she wasn't certain it was wise. She knew what had happened on Dathomir. She knew the things he had done. She was more scared than she wanted to admit.

She didn't know why he had come to her on Dathomir, and even as she drew closer to him now, she... she was confused. Never before had he appeared without armor. His build was different. But that presence in the Shadow was unmistakable.

Essence transference, she realized. Though why, she didn't know. It wasn't a ritual she had ever dared to attempt, but she knew of its existence. For a moment as she approached, she said nothing, finding her voice caught in her throat. When she had met with Uncle Dub and even Vahliri on Dathomir, she had told them she was done kneeling to others and wanted nothing but herself any longer. No responsibility, no one to watch over, and nothing that could be taken from her.

But she remembered something else as well. She remembered being on Coruscant and corrupting its nexus. She remembered finding out who her Father was, the Son of the Fanged Spirit and the Avatar of of Darkness. Daughter of the Empress and the Dark Lord she had craved becoming the new avatar of the Hunt in the galaxy. She had forgotten that desire, but as she drew closer to him and felt that presence, she remembered. That same voice she had heard on Coruscant seemed to whisper unheard words to her now.

She thought back to her teachings in the Sith and those of Darth Bane. "You must be willing to risk oblivion for true power."

Father, she finally said, the single word hanging in the air as she bent at the waist, her eyes flitting down to the sand for a moment as she gave a respectful bow. The wisdom of using the word was perhaps questionable, but she had no idea the true extent of what had occurred. Her family had never seen fit to tell her the full truth of her heritage.

 

[Darth Raze]

Crimson eyes regarded the quarter Sephi that stood before him. He studied her for a moment, his gaze dropping to the amulet around her neck. A protective ward of sorts. It made her more difficult to deal with than most. His jaw tightened. Emryc and his weaknesses had created entirely too many contingency plans for someone that was certain Raze could never escape. The word Father was alien to him. And yet, as he gazed into her eyes, he saw the same ones he saw in the mirror his entire existence.

“So I am…” He responded dryly, his voice low and carrying an unnatural tone to it that was deeper than what the Anzat had been capable of. It was the first time she heard him without a modulator, and yet somehow it would be exactly the voice she would have expected.

“Tell me, child of mine,” He began as he started to walk, disgust clear in his tone, “Why does the galaxy not kneel before you? You scurry about like a lost rat and shame the pedigree of your breeding.”

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

She heard the way his voice sounded, not so different from what she'd have expected, and yet the way he said those words felt one step away from disownment. And yet why did she care? He was her father, but he had never been in her life. Never felt you important enough to be in your life, she thought to herself. There was uncertainty in herself, this she knew, and yet it was part of the reason she had come here.

For a moment she didn't answer as she pondered what to say. She had been taught by her Mother, the Nightsisters, the Sith and she was certain she could come up with an answer, but even as she did, she knew that only the truth mattered. It wasn't like he wouldn't see through anything else anyway.

Because I have lacked direction. I followed weak people to my own detriment, and I have been uncertain of my path since freeing myself from them, she stated. She realized the statement sounded as if she was pushing it off on someone else, but that wasn't the intention of her words. Her directionlessness was her own fault.

The fault is mine, and I have sought to remedy it by gaining my own knowledge, she said. She was growing in power already, and for her age being capable of going toe to toe with even the Councilors of the galaxy was impressive, but in that moment it no longer felt like a great accomplishment. It felt inadequate.

Although Arla didn't know it, Raze would be reminded of a much younger Renfry who, too, wielded great power but lacked direction, focus, and an end for her power. For all her similarities to her fathers, she was undoubtedly the child of her mother as well for good and ill both.

 

[Darth Raze]

The monster kept walking until he arrived at an overlook. From here, he could spot the outline of a grand temple. It was considered abandoned a long time ago but he could sense the pulse of the Force even from here. There were purebloods scattered here and there and they would sense his presence in the Force. His mere existence was a siren song to those that worshiped and revered the dark side.

Her assessment was correct by his measures, “Weak people like your mother who wastes time being at the beck and call of others-” He turned his head to regard her, a cruel grin on his face, “Instead of empowering her flesh and blood to cultivate an existence beyond the cycles of the Nightsisters,” He turned his gaze to the horizon again, “The Fanged Spirit whispers of a galaxy far beyond the boundaries of Dathomir. You have the wings to soar, and yet you know only how to fall.”

The wraith began to dematerialize right next to her, applying skills Arla would only have seen her mother do. She would have been taught how difficult and complex it was, a rare ability. One that took time to perform. And yet the man beside her effortlessly performed the trick, appearing far below in the valley he was overlooking.

Raze did not look back at her as he continued his journey towards his destination.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla followed a step behind him, looking out over the ledge that he peered down from on high. The galaxy could have been at his feet. He could have easily ruled the Empire if he chose to but he had never wanted that. She actually had no idea what it was that he wanted.

She stiffened slightly as he spoke against her Mother, wondering if he was really correct. She had always prided herself on thinking for herself rather than just taking what she was told at face value, but there was no question that he was closer to the Fanged Spirit than anyone she had ever met. Even her mother.

And yet, Mother had always been content on Dathomir. Arla cherished the teachings of the Nightsister, and yet he spoke of something they had never been taught. Conquest? No, he hadn't said conquest, had he?

She wondered what had happened between them that left such a foul taste in his mouth. He clearly held no love for her anymore if he ever had, and she wondered if that was why he had stayed away all these years? She desperately wanted to ask him but thought better of it and held her tongue.

She saw him vanish into a puff of green smoke, the power of teleportation one of those of her people. She had used its power many times before, but she recognized that the distance he traveled was no small thing.

Her head tilted to the side, and for a moment she considered using the amulet to mimic it before deciding such a move would be unwise. Such a "simple" action wasn't something that was worth using her single charge for. But she had no small power of her own.

She stepped back before running to the edge of the valley and leaping high into the air. She let herself dive in a free fall downward, using the Force to slow herself as she hit the ground. She let the Force wrap around her and she, too, was engulfed in a flash of green before materializing a few feet behind him as he walked. Her distance was, naturally, much shorter than his but demonstrated that she was not without her own power.

You never wanted to rule, she said. It was as much a statement as a question as he had been an enigma among all Sith for many years, a fact that he would know well. It wasn't for lack of skill that he hadn't taken over the Empire in the decades since - and even before - Arla's birth.

 

[Darth Raze]

“One does not need a crown to rule,” The wraith declared as he kept walking. He clearly didn’t mind that she continued to walk with him, “I have shaped the galaxy to my design. I have reigned supreme, I have crippled an empire, I have forced the expulsion of both the Dark Jedi Order and Imperials from these sacred lands,” His gaze panned over the landscape before him.

“Oh I have been ruling for a long time, child,” He said with a hollow laugh, “It is no coincidence your eyes resemble those of the most powerful man in the galaxy. Because they are his eyes,” Raze turned to regard her, reaching a hand over to flick his fingers against the amulet on her neck. It pulsed and responded immediately, “You look surprised. Has your mother not seen fit to share the details of your origin with you?” He drew back and continued walking, “Why would she? She would not then be able to manipulate the boundaries of your chains.”

The grounds shifted before him, boulders and rocks levitating quickly ahead of him in a row to allow him to step across in a makeshift bridge. His command of the Force was flawless and effortless, as if he was carved and woven from it. As if he had been the master of it since the day he was born. He didn’t walk as much as he glided across the bridge, clear across a wide chasm. Arla could follow, but it was up to his whims on whether the bridge maintained or he abruptly collapsed it to send her hurtling.

 

[Arla]

Arla's entire world was shifting even as she walked, and yet she found herself gobbling it up, guzzling it down like a man who was dying of thirst in this very desert. She knew for years now that she needed something more and no matter how much she taught herself it was never enough.

But now, it was like the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place. At first, she thought it was perhaps a bit presumptuous for him to take credit for what had happened between the Sith and the Empire, but the more he revealed, the more it didn't seem quite so absurd.

She frowned for a moment, and as his words about her father sunk in she nearly buckled over. She was... no, no, no that wasn't true. That wasn't possible.

No, that... but her voice trailed off. No, she knew it was true, In her feelings and in her soul, she knew that he was telling the truth. She thought of the Thorne children she had met and the uncanny resemblance to them that she bore. They were her siblings.

Why?! she spat angrily, still not fully grasping. Not even sure if she was talking to him. Her mind was still scrambling to make the final pieces fall into place. He was Emryc Thorne? They were... what? How was that possible? Surely the galaxy would have known. She thought back to that moment on Thyferra where she had fought so close to him and he stood against the eyeless creature. It... it made sense. But then how was that possible? Would no one notice that Emryc had changed bodies? Had no one noticed that he was missing?! No, there had to be another explanation. He was a shapeshifter? No, he was without a helmet now. No, essence transfer, she reminded herself. Something was very different, but she still couldn't quite slot the final pieces together.

HER FATHER WAS THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISC.

HER MOTHER HAD HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISC.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE ISC WAS THE DARK LORD OF THE SITH.

Each revelation was more shocking than the last, and she was so shocked that she had barely even noticed the staggering feats that he was performing. Her mind was reeling and she followed along almost numbly after him.

It was only after a few steps that she realized it was only him holding up the stones and she scurried along at a faster pace so she was no more than a step behind him at any time. She doubted he had to collapse a bridge to cause her harm, but she saw no need to test the situation.

She was silent for a very long time, simply following him to wherever he would go as she wrestled with the fact that her world had just been flipped on its head.

This is... clearly not the body of Emryc Thorne, she finally said, uncertain what else to say. The idea that he had two wholly separate beings within him - separate enough for one to exorcise or be exorcised - was all but undocumented even in her relatively expansive studies.

 

[Darth Raze]

The wraith stared blankly at Arla for a few seconds, “An astute observation..” He remarked. He was calibrating. He reached in and drew out from the annals of interactions he had over the years, drawing from Emryc’s dry sarcasm and mannerisms where he needed to apply them, “I was born in the mind of Emryc Thorne. We were two halves of a whole. I have since liberated myself and manifested as an independent entity.”

He arrived near the palace then. It seemed abandoned for now.

“You were not born from an act of love, so do not delude yourself into such illusions,” He stated flatly, “You exist as a consolation prize for a lonely woman that relentlessly chased a man that could never return her affections."

She would know he spoke the truth. It was perhaps the first time in her life someone was brutally honest with her about her past. Raze was not burdened by the machinations of politics and social sensitivity and etiquette. He won or lost nothing by withholding things from her. And she would know it.

The beast continued to walk, stepping into the grand halls of the abandoned palace. Where had the remnants of the pureblood gone? Everything had been collecting dust as if this place had been forgotten for decades now.

 

[Arla]

Arla nodded, the final piece of the puzzle coming together in a way that made perfect sense.

His statements about her origin were cutting, and she didn't want to believe them, but a part of her couldn't shake the feeling that they held at least an element of truth to them. It would... well, it would also explain many things, wouldn't it? She was just... all her life she was just a second class child, kept away from her siblings, kept from her father. How could this have happened? Why bother having her at all?

But there was no reason for him to lie to her, was there? Why bother telling her at all? No one else had deigned to do so. Not Mother, not Emryc, not Wraith, not Tiamat. No one had bothered to breathe a word of her past to her. For shame? To keep her from the pain?

Why was he telling her? Her mind returned to the question. Of course there was the argument that he was just doing it for his own entertainment, and perhaps that was the wisest choice to believe. But there was also the argument that he told her because he wanted her to reach her potential. To become what she was arguable the heir to. That... was probably not a wise speculation.

Are you Sith? she finally asked. The first true question she had posed to him and by far the most insightful as well. There was no question he was an avatar of the Dark Side, but perhaps he no longer even considered himself to be a Sith. Perhaps he felt he had superseded such petty titles. What she did know was what he truly sought out of his existence and power.

 

[Darth Raze]

Her mind was swirling and churning. Doubt. Fear. Anxiety. Regrets. All of it was delicious to him. Raze felt the Force whirling within her mind. He could sense everything, especially on a planet like this. The Anzat knew the seeds were planted, and they just needed to be cultivated. Her question was pleasing to him. Even the purebloods here had long since lost their ways. They had no direction. They fought among themselves and had regressed to their primitive ways.

He slowly turned to look at her, his crimson eyes gleaming, “I am the only Sith,” He declared.

 

[Arla]

Arla thought on his words. Thought on everything she had seen form him and all he had done. All he had claimed and the influence he carried. His statement that he was the only Sith.

She looked up at those crimson eyes, and for a moment she got a glimpse of all the chaos and death he had sewn. She had seen the power he wielded firsthand, and she wanted it. But... she was no fool either. The next logical statement would be something along the lines of "teach me" but such a statement carried with it an entire weight of things that one would be an utter fool to plunge into without first thinking.

She had once pledged herself to the Sith Order and followed its teachings to extract every ounce of useful information. But so many of the living "masters" were simply children fluttering about in the wind. They had little to offer her that she couldn't gain on her own.

I have never met a real Sith, she finally stated, deciding that she did agree with him. No one in the Sith Order could call themselves what he was. Or what Andraste had been. Or Kravos. Or even Sidious. She had even spent time among the purebloods to learn their language and thus their sorcery. She had spent years among the Sith Order, but all of it had ultimately driven her away.

They called me a Sith Master because of the power I wielded, but I left because the Order lacked... those who could teach me, she said after a moment.

What will you do now? This was the hinge of everything, wasn't it? He had - she now understood - spent his entire life trapped under someone else's thumb. He - like her - had been robbed of so much of his choice. And now he was free, no longer held back or bound to prevent him from doing whatever he chose.

 

[Darth Raze]

Her admission was almost entertaining. He had abandoned the Order because it comprised Dark Jedi more than it did Sith. It took a specific kind of academic to be a true Sith, a penchant for seeking knowledge and ancient practices that could hardly be taught. There had to be a desire for greater understanding and critical thinking. Being a Sith had stopped being an art form a long time ago.

“I will remind the galaxy that it serves me,” He said almost nonchalantly, “I would not be allowed to manifest if the Force did not warrant my existence.”

As the Jedi and the Light existed, so too did the darkest form of the Force in its ugliest and most twisted fashion. That existence became tangible in the shape of Raze.

 

[Arla]

Arla was silent again for a long moment, thinking about what he had said. The Nightsisters believed that the powers of the Fanged Spirit and Winged Spirit worked in tandem. One could not exist without the other, perpetuating the cycles of nature and allowing the galaxy to flourish. It had been many years since there had been a true apex predator that roamed the galaxy doing as it wanted and living as it chose.

She thought about what the Shadow wanted from this galaxy and what she had read about the old Sith Eternal: the belief that a purging fire was necessary for the galaxy to survive and thrive. Resources would run dry, poverty would mount, and the galaxy would collapse under the weight of its own ignorance and feigned mercy.

She knew that she stood on the precipice of her life, another crossroads like the one she had experienced not so long ago. Stripped of all she had worked for, she had allowed the Empire to throw her out of her own kingdom. Could Raze really bring the Empire to heel? Could he really stand against the Jedi alone? Was it truly possible for one man to change the galaxy?

But hadn't he already done just that? Dark Lord and President rolled into one, there was no figure who had more power than he did. And yet, Raze lacked the subtlety of the other man. He was not a politician or a diplomat, he had the power to take what he wanted.

The Avatar of Darkness. The phrase stuck in her head once again, and she could hear that still, small voice from the Nexus once again.

Embrace your destiny. All your life, knowledge, and training has led to this moment, it said.

She continued to be silent for a long moment before finally speaking.

I wish to help you, if you would have me.

 

[Darth Raze]

Her words hung in the air for a moment, silence lingering between them. The Sith appeared not to have heard her, his gleaming gaze still staring at the columns of the temple. This palace once held great prestige and life, and now it was nothing but a shell of its former glory.

“And what would I gain?” He asked with a scoff, “A toddler whose only credentials are the Sith Master stamp from a false Order and a few party tricks that she was born with? A little girl that needs daddy’s sword and shield to hang around her neck at all times? What help could you give me when you have silly little attachments and weaknesses that make you nothing more than a liability?”

This was why Renfry had failed. This was why Emryc Thorne had failed. To be true Sith meant severing all things that tied you down. He had to do that by gouging out half of himself. The pain had been unbearable. No one heard his screams or wails as he separated from Emryc, but the planet shook and the surface was partially devastated from the impacts. To serve the Dark Side meant to pay a price, and Arla knew nothing of the costs.

 

[Arla]

It was a strange thing that she felt. Kinship was too strong of a word, but even as he stood there, seemingly having not heard her at all, she knew better. Perhaps it was because she did the same thing to people, a mannerism she had never even understood was inherited.

When his answer finally did come, it was nothing but cutting. Words that left a gouged feeling in her chest, but she knew... she knew this path was not for the feint of heart, and yet she knew that she didn't fully know what she asked. Perhaps that was where she erred from the path her mother had walked: she didn't fully know the extent of what it would cost, and she knew it. And yet, she had to.

Someone with wings who just needs to be taught to fly, she finally said. She used his own analogy because it was true and they both knew it. She had the raw talent and power, but she knew it was unshaped and its current existence fell short of her true potential. She also knew that there were few in the galaxy who truly had that potential at all.

I risked death coming here, and I will continue to do so in your service. Knowledge is worth risking oblivion for, she said. And her risks were risks he need not take. It had been the way of Master and Apprentice for generations. It had brought the Sith to power and it had seen the Jedi hunted to extinction.